Rep. Conyers wife can't afford a Lawyer? Gets Public Defender

The National Law Journal reports that former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, wife of House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., has been declared indigent by a federal judge. That means she gets a public defender in her attempt to appeal her three-year prison sentence on a bribery charge to which she pleaded guilty.

[Conyers] says she can’t afford a lawyer…despite the fact that her husband — who is the second-longest serving current member of the U.S. House of Representatives — makes $174,000 a year….The court said that Monica Conyers provided information that established her inability to pay for a lawyer, including “a detailed description of her financial resources in the presentence investigation report and [the information] that Mrs. Conyers was on her own — so to speak — as to such resources.” Therefore, the court said, “Further inquiry was not appropriate and would have intruded on private matters.”

Monica Conyers is being declared “indigent” based on financial records which indicate that she can’t afford her own lawyer. John Conyers, whose congressional salary is approximately $174,000, has refused to pay for a private lawyer. According to federal guidelines, a family member’s wealth may not be taken into consideration when establishing a person’s ability to pay for legal counsel unless unless a willingness to do so is expressed.